Cross-floor goods shelf carrying method and carrying system

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a cross-floor goods shelf carrying method and carrying system, and relates to the technical field of automatic logistics, and the method comprises the steps that in response to a carrying robot, a first goods shelf is carried to an elevator, and whether the remaining space of the elevator can contain more goods shelves or not is determined according to the size of the first goods shelf; if more goods shelves cannot be contained, the elevator is controlled to carry the first goods shelf to a target floor corresponding to the first goods shelf, and if more goods shelves can be contained, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and a request for carrying a second goods shelf on the first floor to the elevator is responded; and whether the remaining space can contain the second goods shelf or not is determined according to the size of the second goods shelf, if yes, the carrying robot is controlled to carry the second goods shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to carry the first goods shelf and the second goods shelf to the corresponding target floors correspondingly. By means of the method, it is not needed to distinguish a single-supporting elevator from a multi-supporting elevator, and the complex requirement for collaborative carrying of multiple types of goods shelves is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of automated logistics technology, and in particular to a cross-floor shelf transport method and transport system. Background Art

[0002] In the field of intelligent warehousing and logistics automation, dispatching automated guided vehicles (AGVs) loaded with materials to carry out cross-floor shelf transportation is a key link in improving warehousing efficiency. Usually, AGVs are dispatched to carry shelves into elevators, and the elevator's lifting function is used to achieve cross-floor shelf transportation.

[0003] Because shelves holding materials vary in size, related technologies categorize elevators into single-tray elevators and multi-tray elevators based on the number of shelves the elevator controls can accommodate. A single-tray elevator can only accommodate a single shelf at a time, while a multi-tray elevator can accommodate multiple shelves and can transport multiple shelves at once. During task planning, the corresponding elevator is dispatched based on the size of the shelves to be transported. For example, a single-tray elevator is dispatched for independent transport of large shelves (such as pallet shelves), while a multi-tray elevator is dispatched for combined transport of smaller shelves.

[0004] However, in actual applications, there are mixed handling requirements where large and small shelves need to share the same elevator, and existing scheduling methods cannot meet this scenario. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a shelf handling method that is compatible with mixed handling scenarios to meet the complex needs of coordinated handling of multiple types of shelves. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a cross-floor rack transport method and system to meet the complex requirements of coordinated transport of multiple types of racks. The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for transporting shelves across floors is provided, the method comprising:

[0007] In response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the first shelf, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0008] If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to a target floor corresponding to the first shelf, wherein the target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported;

[0009] If more racks can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor, and in response to a request to transport a second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack, wherein the first floor is the floor where the first rack is located;

[0010] If the second rack can be accommodated, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the empty elevator can simultaneously accommodate at least n racks of the first size;

[0012] The determining, based on the size of the first shelf, whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves includes:

[0013] If the size of the first shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0014] If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0015] If the size of the first rack is not greater than the first size, and the number of racks already loaded in the elevator is less than n, it is determined that the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more racks.

[0016] In a possible implementation, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf according to the size of the second shelf includes:

[0017] If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second shelf;

[0018] If the size of the second shelf is not greater than the first size, it is determined that the remaining controls can accommodate the second shelf.

[0019] In one possible implementation, in response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes:

[0020] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack;

[0021] The method further comprises:

[0022] If a request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0024] If the second rack cannot be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the loaded first rack to the corresponding target floor;

[0025] The empty elevator is controlled to return to the first floor, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0027] If the second shelf cannot be accommodated, controlling the elevator to stay on the first floor;

[0028] If a request to transport a third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the third rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the third rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0029] The empty elevator is controlled to return to the first floor, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

[0030] In a possible implementation, controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors, includes:

[0031] In response to the transport robot transporting the second rack to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the second rack, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks;

[0032] If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the corresponding target floor;

[0033] If more shelves can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and in response to a request to transport the fourth shelf on the first floor to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf and the fourth shelf to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fourth shelf is the shelf that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0034] In one possible implementation, in response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes:

[0035] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack;

[0036] The method further comprises:

[0037] If, after the first rack is moved to the elevator and before a preset time has passed, no request is received to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, and a request is received to move the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to run to the second floor, and the elevator is controlled to move the first rack and the fifth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fifth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0038] In a possible implementation, after controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, the method further includes:

[0039] If a request to move the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is moved to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to move the sixth rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to move the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective target floors, wherein the sixth rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0040] If a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective target floors.

[0041] A second aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a cross-floor shelf transport system, the system comprising a control unit, a transport robot, and an elevator;

[0042] The transport robot is used to transport the shelves into the elevator;

[0043] The elevator is used to transport the loaded shelves to their respective corresponding target floors;

[0044] The control unit is used to determine whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator according to the size of the first shelf; if it cannot accommodate more shelves, control the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf; if it can still accommodate more shelves, control the elevator to stay on the first floor, and in response to the request to transport the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator, determine whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf according to the size of the second shelf; if it can accommodate the second shelf, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors; wherein, the target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported.

[0045] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a cross-floor shelf transport device is provided, the device comprising:

[0046] a space determination module, configured to determine, in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf;

[0047] a first control module, configured to control the elevator to transport the first rack to a target floor corresponding to the first rack if no more racks can be accommodated, wherein the target floor corresponding to the rack is a floor to which the rack needs to be transported;

[0048] a second control module, configured to control the elevator to stay at the first floor if more shelves can be accommodated, and in response to a request to transport a second shelf on the first floor to the elevator, determine whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf based on the size of the second shelf;

[0049] The third control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the second rack to the elevator if the second rack can be accommodated, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the empty elevator can simultaneously accommodate at least n racks of the first size;

[0051] The determining, based on the size of the first shelf, whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves includes:

[0052] If the size of the first shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0053] If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0054] If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is less than n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0055] In a possible implementation, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf according to the size of the second shelf includes:

[0056] If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second shelf;

[0057] If the size of the second shelf is not greater than the first size, determining that the remaining controls can accommodate the second shelf;

[0058] In one possible implementation, in response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes:

[0059] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack;

[0060] The device is also used for:

[0061] If a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, controlling the elevator to move the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack;

[0062] In a possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0063] a fourth control module, configured to control the elevator to transport the loaded first rack to a corresponding target floor if the second rack cannot be accommodated;

[0064] a fifth control module, configured to control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors;

[0065] In a possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0066] a sixth control module, configured to control the elevator to stay on the first floor if the second shelf cannot be accommodated;

[0067] a seventh control module, configured to, if a request to transport a third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, control the transport robot to transport the third rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the third rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0068] an eighth control module, configured to control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors;

[0069] In a possible implementation, controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors, includes:

[0070] In response to the transport robot transporting the second rack to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the second rack, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks;

[0071] If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the corresponding target floor;

[0072] If more shelves can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and in response to a request to transport the fourth shelf on the first floor to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf and the fourth shelf to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fourth shelf is the shelf that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0073] In one possible implementation, in response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes:

[0074] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack;

[0075] The device further comprises:

[0076] The ninth control module is configured to control the elevator to run to the second floor, and to control the elevator to transport the first and fifth racks to their respective corresponding target floors, if a request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, and a request to transport the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator is received. The fifth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0078] a tenth control module, configured to, after the control transport robot transports the second rack to the elevator, if a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, control the transport robot to transport the sixth rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the sixth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0079] If a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective target floors.

[0080] An embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, including:

[0081] Memory for storing computer programs;

[0082] The processor is configured to implement any of the above-mentioned cross-floor shelf transport methods when executing the program stored in the memory.

[0083] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, any of the above-mentioned cross-floor shelf transport methods is implemented.

[0084] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above-described cross-floor shelf transport methods.

[0085] Beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application:

[0086] An embodiment of the present application provides a cross-floor shelf transport method and transport system. After a transport robot transports a first shelf to an elevator, the system determines whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf. If not, the elevator is controlled to transport the shelf currently being transported by the elevator to the floor that needs to be transported. If the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate it, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor. Upon receiving a request to transport a second shelf on the first floor to the elevator, the system determines whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf based on the size of the second shelf. If so, the second shelf is transported into the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the shelf currently being transported by the elevator to the respective floors that need to be transported. After the first rack is moved to the elevator, it can be determined whether the first rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the first rack. If the first rack is a large rack, since it can be considered that the elevator cannot accommodate other racks after loading the large rack in the elevator, the elevator is controlled to leave, which is equivalent to realizing the separate transportation of the large rack. If the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, waiting to receive the transportation request of the second rack on the first floor, and it can also be determined whether the second rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the second rack. When the second rack is a small rack, it can be considered that the second rack can be combined with the first rack in the elevator. That is, when the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is not controlled to leave immediately but is controlled to stay on the first floor to wait for the small rack that may need to be transported on the first floor, thereby realizing the combined transportation of the small racks. In this way, large racks and small racks can share the same elevator for cross-floor rack transportation without distinguishing between single-support elevators and multi-support elevators, which can improve the utilization rate of the elevator space and meet the complex needs of coordinated transportation of multiple types of racks.

[0087] Of course, it is not necessary to achieve all the advantages described above at the same time when implementing any product or method of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0088] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other embodiments can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0089] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a method for transporting shelves across floors provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Figure 2a An example diagram of a docking station for a large shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] Figure 2b This is an example diagram of the docking position of a small shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] Figure 3 A first flow chart of a method for transporting shelves across floors provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Figure 4 A second flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Figure 5 A third flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] Figure 6 A fourth flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] Figure 7 A fifth flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Figure 8 A sixth flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] Figure 9 A seventh flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Figure 10 A flowchart of the embodiment of the present application showing that large and small shelves share a single elevator for transport;

[0100] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the structure of the transport system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0101] Figure 12 A schematic structural diagram of a cross-floor shelf transport device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Figure 13A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0103] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0104] First, the professional terms in the embodiments of this application are explained:

[0105] AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle): An intelligent mobile robot that can move shelves to designated locations.

[0106] WCS (Warehouse Control System): controls external equipment such as pagers / alarm lights / conveyor lines / elevators and other system services.

[0107] CMS (Center Management System): It can create, generate and manage different AGV handling tasks according to business scenarios, manage AGV operation maps, and interact with other systems to achieve comprehensive scheduling of multiple AGV operation tasks in complex scenarios.

[0108] Shelf: The object transported by AGV. Shelves are divided into large shelves and small shelves according to their size.

[0109] Multi-rack elevator: The elevator space can accommodate multiple racks and transport multiple racks at a time.

[0110] Single-support elevator: The elevator space can only accommodate a single shelf at a time.

[0111] In the field of intelligent warehousing and logistics automation, single-trailer elevators and multi-trailer elevators are typically used for large and small shelves, respectively. Single-trailer elevators are used to transport large shelves, while multi-trailer elevators are used to transport multiple small shelves. However, in some scenarios, only one elevator is usually required to transport shelves across multiple floors, making existing solutions for cross-floor shelf handling unsuitable.

[0112] In order to meet the complex needs of coordinated transportation of multiple types of shelves, a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a cross-floor shelf transportation method applied to electronic equipment.

[0113] like Figure 1FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a method for transporting shelves across floors provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0114] Step S10, in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf;

[0115] Step S20: If no more shelves can be accommodated, control the elevator to move the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0116] The target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported;

[0117] Step S30: If more racks can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and in response to a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator, it is determined whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack;

[0118] The first floor is where the first shelf is located.

[0119] Step S40: If the second shelf can be accommodated, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0120] By adopting the embodiment of the present application, after the first rack is transported to the elevator, it can be determined whether the first rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the first rack. If the first rack is a large rack, since it can be considered that the elevator cannot accommodate other racks after the large rack is loaded in the elevator, the elevator is controlled to leave, which is equivalent to realizing the separate transportation of the large rack. If the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, waiting to receive the transportation request of the second rack on the first floor, and it can also be determined whether the second rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the second rack. When the second rack is a small rack, it can be considered that the second rack can be combined with the first rack in the elevator. That is, when the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is not immediately controlled to leave but is controlled to stay on the first floor to wait for the small rack that may need to be transported on the first floor, thereby realizing the combined transportation of the small racks. In this way, large racks and small racks can share the same elevator for cross-floor rack transportation without distinguishing between single-support elevators and multi-support elevators, which can improve the utilization rate of the elevator space and meet the complex needs of coordinated transportation of multiple types of racks.

[0121] The above steps S10 to S40 are described in detail below:

[0122] In the above step S10, in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, the transport robot may send a first instruction to the electronic device after transporting the first shelf to the elevator. The first instruction may be used to indicate that the transport robot has transported the first shelf into the elevator. The first instruction may also indicate the size of the first shelf. Alternatively, an image acquisition device for shelf identification may be provided in the elevator. The image acquisition device may identify that the transport robot has transported the first shelf into the elevator. The image acquisition device may also identify the size of the shelf transported by the transport robot into the elevator.

[0123] The size of a shelf refers to parameters such as the length, width, and height of the shelf. In one possible embodiment, the shelves can be divided into large shelves and small shelves, where large shelves refer to shelves whose dimensions are larger than a first dimension, and small shelves refer to shelves whose dimensions are smaller than the first dimension. An elevator can carry one large shelf or multiple small shelves in a single transport. When the size of the first shelf is larger than the first dimension, it means that the first shelf is a large shelf. After the first shelf is transported to the elevator, it can be considered that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate any more shelves. If the size of the first shelf is not larger than the preset first dimension, it is necessary to determine whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the number and size of shelves already loaded in the elevator.

[0124] The size of the shelf can be identified by an image acquisition device set in the elevator, or it can be obtained from a request to transport the shelf to the elevator. The request to transport the shelf to the elevator can be sent by a transport robot or by a CMS. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0125] Determining whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf may mean comparing the difference between the size of the first shelf and the size of the elevator. If the difference is less than a preset threshold, it means that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves. If the difference is greater than the preset threshold, it means that the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate smaller shelves.

[0126] In a possible implementation, the docking positions of large shelves can be marked in a first pattern in the elevator, and the docking positions of small shelves can be marked in a second pattern. The image acquisition device in the elevator identifies whether there are empty docking positions. If there are empty docking positions, it means that the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves. If there are no empty docking positions, it means that the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves. Figure 2a The following is an example diagram of the docking position of a large shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2b The figure shows an example of a docking position of a small shelf provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2a and Figure 2bThe solid line frame represents the elevator, and the dotted line frame represents the docking position of the shelf. For the same elevator, the docking positions of the small shelves do not overlap with each other, and the docking positions of the large shelves overlap with the docking positions of all small shelves. It can be understood that Figure 2a and Figure 2b This is only an example diagram of the docking position. In other possible embodiments, the markings of the docking positions of large shelves are different from those of the docking positions of small shelves. For example, the docking positions of large shelves can be represented by black frames, and the docking positions of small shelves can be represented by white frames.

[0127] It is understood that when the transport robot transports the shelf to the elevator, it transports the shelf to the area where the docking station is located in the elevator. Furthermore, when transporting the shelf to the elevator, the transport robot prioritizes transporting the shelf to the docking station farther from the elevator door. This prevents shelves already transported to the elevator from blocking shelves about to be transported to the elevator. In one possible embodiment, the docking stations for small shelves can be pre-set in order, with docking stations farther from the elevator door being ranked higher in priority.

[0128] In one possible embodiment, if the size of the first shelf is no larger than the first size, assuming that an empty elevator can simultaneously accommodate at least n shelves of the first size, where n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, then the empty elevator can also simultaneously accommodate at least n first shelves. After the first shelf is transported to the elevator, if the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, it means that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves; if the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is less than n, it means that the remaining space in the elevator can still accommodate more shelves. It is understandable that the first size is set by the user based on the size of the elevator and actual needs, and this embodiment of the application is not limited to this.

[0129] By setting the first size as the boundary and comparing the size of the first shelf with the first size to determine whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves, it is possible to quickly determine whether the elevator can still load cargo, avoid overloading or space waste, and improve the space utilization of the elevator.

[0130] In step S20, if the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more racks, the elevator is directly controlled to transport the first rack to the target floor. It is understood that in addition to the first rack, the elevator may also be loaded with other racks, and the target floors corresponding to the other racks may be the same as or different from the target floor corresponding to the first rack. If the target floors corresponding to the other racks are different from the target floor corresponding to the first rack, all racks in the elevator need to be transported to their respective target floors.

[0131] For example, suppose that after the first rack is moved into the elevator, the remaining space in the elevator can no longer accommodate more racks. The target floor corresponding to the first rack is the 10th floor. If the elevator is also loaded with rack A and rack B, the target floor corresponding to rack A is the 11th floor, and the target floor corresponding to rack B is the 12th floor, then the first rack needs to be moved to the 10th floor, rack A to the 11th floor, and rack B to the 12th floor.

[0132] It can be understood that when transporting each shelf to the target floor, it can refer to transporting them in the opposite order of the order in which each shelf is transported to the elevator. For example, in the above embodiment, the first shelf can be transported to the 10th floor first, then shelf A can be transported to the 11th floor, and finally shelf B can be transported to the 12th floor; the transport order can also be determined according to the priority set for each shelf in advance. For example, the priority of the first shelf > the priority of shelf B > the priority of shelf A, then the first shelf is transported to the 10th floor first, then shelf B is transported to the 12th floor, and finally shelf A is transported to the 11th floor; the shelves can also be transported in the order from high to low or from low to high according to their corresponding target floors. For example, the first shelf is transported to the 10th floor first, then shelf A is transported to the 11th floor, and finally shelf B is transported to the 12th floor, or shelf B is transported to the 12th floor first, then shelf A is transported to the 11th floor, and finally the first shelf is transported to the 10th floor.

[0133] Although the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate other racks, if the second rack is a large rack, the elevator cannot actually accommodate the second rack. Therefore, in the above step S30, it is necessary to determine whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack. Specifically, if the remaining space is larger than the size of the second rack, it is considered that the remaining space can accommodate the second rack, and if the remaining space is not larger than the size of the second rack, it is considered that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second rack.

[0134] In another possible implementation, in the embodiment in which the aforementioned empty elevator can accommodate at least n shelves of the first size at the same time, the size of the second shelf can also be compared with the first size. If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, it means that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate the second shelf; if the size of the second shelf is not larger than the first size, it means that the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate the second shelf.

[0135] By comparing the size of the second shelf with the first size, it is possible to quickly determine whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf, thereby avoiding overloading or space waste and improving the space utilization rate of the elevator.

[0136] To facilitate understanding of the solutions of the embodiments of this application, see Figure 3 , Figure 3The figure shows a first flow chart of a method for transporting shelves across floors provided by an embodiment of the present application. The flow is as follows:

[0137] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0138] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0139] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S4 to S6;

[0140] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0141] Step S4, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor and receiving a request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator;

[0142] Step S5, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf;

[0143] If yes, proceed to step S6;

[0144] Step S6: Control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0145] The above steps S1 and S2 are equivalent to the above step S10, the above step S3 is equivalent to the above step S20, the above steps S4 and S5 are equivalent to the above step S30, and the above step S6 is equivalent to the above step 40. The descriptions of the above steps S1 to S6 refer to the above steps S10 to S40, which will not be repeated here.

[0146] If the remaining space in the elevator in the above step S5 cannot accommodate the second rack, other methods can be used to handle it. For example, the elevator can be controlled to transport the existing racks in the elevator to their corresponding target floors, and then all the racks in the elevator can be transported. Then, the empty elevator can be controlled to go to the first floor to transport the second rack. Alternatively, the elevator can be controlled to leave, and other empty elevators can be controlled to go to the first floor to transport the second rack.

[0147] like Figure 4 The second flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown, and the process is as follows:

[0148] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0149] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0150] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S4 to S6;

[0151] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0152] Step S4, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor and receiving a request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator;

[0153] Step S5, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf;

[0154] If it can be accommodated, then step S6 is executed. If it cannot be accommodated, then steps S7 to S8 are executed.

[0155] Step S6: Control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0156] Step S7, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0157] Step S8, controlling the empty elevator to return to the first floor, controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

[0158] If there are multiple elevators in the cross-floor rack transport scenario, steps S7 and S8 can be executed simultaneously or sequentially, and the order of steps S7 and S8 is not limited. If there is only one elevator in the cross-floor rack transport scenario, step S7 is executed first, followed by step S8.

[0159] By using the embodiment of the present application, when the elevator cannot accommodate the second shelf, the elevator is controlled to transport the shelves already loaded in the elevator to the corresponding target floor, and the empty elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf, ensuring that the existing shelves in the elevator can be transported to the target floor in time, thereby improving the overall transportation efficiency.

[0160] In order to maximize the number of shelves that the elevator can transport in a single time and improve the transportation efficiency, the elevator's dwell time can be set to determine whether a request to transport small-sized shelves on the first floor is received within the preset duration of the elevator's stay.

[0161] It is understood that, in order to prevent the elevator from staying on the same floor for too long and causing shelves on other floors to be delayed in being moved in time, the preset length of time the elevator stays can be a preset length of time starting from the time the first shelf is moved to the elevator. The preset length of time herein is set by the user based on actual needs, such as 5 minutes or 2 minutes, or other lengths, and this application is not limited thereto.

[0162] like Figure 5The third flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown, and the process is as follows:

[0163] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0164] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0165] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S4 to S6;

[0166] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0167] Step S4, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor and receiving a request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator;

[0168] Step S5, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf;

[0169] If it can be accommodated, then execute step S6; if it cannot be accommodated, then execute step S701;

[0170] Step S6: Control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective target floors;

[0171] Step S701, determining whether a request to move the third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0172] Among them, the third rack is the rack that can be accommodated by the remaining space of the elevator;

[0173] If received, execute steps S702 to S703;

[0174] Step S702: Control the transport robot to transport the third rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective target floors.

[0175] Step S703: Control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the corresponding target floor.

[0176] It is understandable that if a request to move the third shelf on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first shelf is moved to the elevator, step S3 is executed, and step S703 is executed.

[0177] According to the embodiment of the present application, if the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate the second shelf, the elevator will continue to wait for requests to transport small-sized shelves. This can maximize the number of shelves that the elevator can transport at a single time, thereby improving transportation efficiency.

[0178] In the above step S703, after controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, the elevator can be directly controlled to transport the second shelf to the target floor corresponding to the second shelf, or the elevator can be controlled to be full before transporting the second shelf.

[0179] If the goods are transported again after the elevator is full, the second rack is regarded as the new first rack and the above steps S1 to S6 are executed again.

[0180] For example, Figure 6 The fourth flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown, and the process is as follows:

[0181] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0182] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0183] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S4 to S6;

[0184] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0185] Step S4, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor and receiving a request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator;

[0186] Step S5, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf;

[0187] If it can be accommodated, then execute step S6; if it cannot be accommodated, then execute step S701;

[0188] Step S6: Control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective target floors;

[0189] Step S701, determining whether a request to move the third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0190] Among them, the third rack is the rack that can be accommodated by the remaining space of the elevator;

[0191] If received, execute step S702, step S7031 to step S7032;

[0192] Step S702: Control the transport robot to transport the third rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective target floors.

[0193] Step S7031: Control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, and control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator;

[0194] Step S7032: Determine whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the second shelf;

[0195] If not, execute step S7033; if yes, execute step S7034;

[0196] Step S7033: Control the elevator to move the second shelf to the corresponding target floor;

[0197] Step S7034: Control the elevator to stay at the first floor, and in response to the request to move the fourth rack on the first floor to the elevator, control the transport robot to move the second rack and the fourth rack to their respective target floors;

[0198] Among them, the fourth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0199] By adopting the embodiment of the present application, each elevator needs to determine whether the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the shelf size, which can increase the number of shelves that the elevator can transport in a single time and improve the transportation efficiency.

[0200] Similarly to the above, after controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor in the above step S4, if the waiting time for the request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator is long, it may also cause the shelves on other floors to be moved untimely, thereby reducing the efficiency of shelf transportation.

[0201] Based on this, in one possible implementation, the timing can be started after the first shelf is moved into the elevator. If a request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator is received within the preset time, the subsequent steps will be executed. If no request to move the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator is received within the preset time, the elevator will be directly controlled to leave and move the shelves currently loaded in the elevator to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0202] like Figure 7 The fifth flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:

[0203] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0204] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0205] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S401 to S402;

[0206] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0207] Step S401, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor, and determining the time it takes for the first shelf to be transported to the elevator;

[0208] Step S402, determining whether a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0209] If received, execute step S5, if not received, execute step S3;

[0210] Step S5, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf;

[0211] If it can be accommodated, execute step S6; if it cannot be accommodated, execute step S3. In order to ensure that the second shelf can also be transported, other elevators can be controlled to transport the second shelf. Alternatively, after the loaded shelves in the elevator in step S3 are transported to their respective corresponding target floors, the empty elevator can be controlled to transport the second shelf.

[0212] Step S6: Control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0213] Through the embodiment of the present application, a waiting time is set for the elevator. If no request is received after the preset waiting time, the shelves already transported in the elevator are directly transported to the target floor. This avoids the elevator being stuck on the first floor for a long time due to waiting for the request, resulting in the shelves already in the elevator not being delivered in time, thereby improving the transportation efficiency.

[0214] Based on the above, if no request for the same floor is received within the preset time, Figure 7 In the embodiment shown, the elevator is directly controlled to carry the loaded shelves to the corresponding target floors. If only a small-sized shelf is carried in the elevator, the utilization rate of the elevator is low, resulting in low handling efficiency.

[0215] In order to maximize the number of shelves that the elevator can transport in a single trip, in one possible implementation, the preset duration of the elevator's stay can also be the preset duration that restarts after each shelf is transported to the elevator. For example, assuming the preset duration is 5 minutes, a 5-minute countdown will begin after small shelf 1 is transported to the elevator. If a request to transport small shelf 2 on the same floor is received before the countdown ends, the countdown will restart after small shelf 2 is transported to the elevator, and so on, until the elevator is full or no request to transport a small shelf on the same floor is received before the countdown ends.

[0216] like Figure 8 The sixth flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:

[0217] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0218] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0219] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S401 to S402;

[0220] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0221] Step S401, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor, and determining the time it takes for the first shelf to be transported to the elevator;

[0222] Step S402, determining whether a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0223] If received, execute step S5, if not received, execute step S3;

[0224] Step S5, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf;

[0225] If it cannot be accommodated, step S3 is executed. In order to ensure that the second shelf can also be transported, other elevators can be controlled to transport the second shelf. Alternatively, after the loaded shelves in the elevator in step S3 are transported to their respective corresponding target floors, the empty elevator can be controlled to transport the second shelf.

[0226] If it can be accommodated, then execute steps S601 to S602;

[0227] Step S601, controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and determining the time elapsed after the first shelf is transported to the elevator;

[0228] Step S602, determining whether a request to move the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0229] Among them, the sixth rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0230] If not received, execute step S603; if received, execute step S604;

[0231] Step S603: Control the elevator to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0232] Step S604: Control the transport robot to transport the sixth rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective target floors.

[0233] Through the embodiment of the present application, the timer is restarted each time a shelf is transported into the elevator to wait for the request to transport a small shelf, which can increase the number of shelves that the elevator can transport at a single time and improve the elevator transportation efficiency.

[0234] In order to further improve the elevator handling efficiency, the elevator can also receive handling requests for shelves on other floors within the preset waiting time. If no handling requests for shelves on the same floor are received within the preset time, the elevator will respond to handling requests for shelves on other floors and go to other floors to handle the shelves.

[0235] Based on this, Figure 9 The seventh flow chart of the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown, and the process is as follows:

[0236] Step S1: The transport robot transports the first shelf to the elevator;

[0237] Step S2, determining whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0238] If not, execute step S3; if yes, execute steps S401 to S402;

[0239] Step S3, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf;

[0240] Step S401, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor, and determining the time it takes for the first shelf to be transported to the elevator;

[0241] Step S402, determining whether a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0242] If received, execute step S5, if not received, execute step S91;

[0243] Step S5, determine whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate the second shelf; if not, execute step S3; if so, execute step S6, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0244] Step S91, determining whether a request to move the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator;

[0245] If received, execute step S92; if not received, execute step S3;

[0246] Step S92, control the elevator to run to the second floor, and control the elevator to move the first rack and the fifth rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0247] It can be understood that if the shelf requested to be moved in the above step S91 is a shelf that the elevator cannot accommodate, the elevator will not be controlled to the floor where the shelf is located, but will continue to determine whether a request to move the fifth shelf on other floors to the elevator is received before the preset time has passed after the first shelf is moved to the elevator.

[0248] If a transport request for the fifth shelf of multiple different floors is received within a preset time period, the transport can arrive at each floor in order from early to late according to the time of receiving the request, or in order from high to low according to the priority of the fifth shelf on each floor, or in order from other preset orders. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0249] By using the embodiment of the present application, when the elevator is not full, by judging whether a transport request for shelves on the same floor and a transport request for shelves on different floors are received within a preset time period, the number of shelves that the elevator can transport at a single time can be increased, thereby improving the transport efficiency.

[0250] It is understandable that, in order to improve transportation efficiency, the second floor in this application is the floor that the elevator will pass through when running from the first floor to the target floor. For example, assuming that the first floor is the 3rd floor and the target floor is the 7th floor, the second floor can be any of the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors. Based on this, when the elevator receives a request to move a small shelf from another floor, it will first determine whether the floor is between the first floor and the target floor. If so, it will respond to the transportation request; if not, it will not respond to the transportation request, and directly move the shelves in the elevator to their respective target floors, and then control the empty elevator to move the shelves to that floor.

[0251] like Figure 10The flowchart shown is provided in an embodiment of the present application for transporting large and small shelves by sharing a single elevator. After receiving a transport request from an AGV (equivalent to the aforementioned transport robot), it is determined whether the maximum side length of the shelf to be transported (equivalent to the second shelf) is greater than M (equivalent to the first size) and whether there is an elevator on the current floor (equivalent to the first floor). If the maximum side length of the shelf is greater than M and there is an elevator on the current floor, the elevator on the current floor ends the assembly, closes the door and leaves, and then dispatches an empty elevator to the current floor. After controlling the AGV to transport the shelf to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to leave and go to the target floor. If the maximum side length of the shelf is greater than M and there is no elevator on the current floor, an empty elevator is directly dispatched to the current floor, and after controlling the AGV to transport the shelf to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to leave and go to the target floor.

[0252] If the maximum side length of the shelf is not greater than M and there is an elevator on the current floor, determine whether the elevator is full. If so, control the elevator door to close and leave, dispatch an empty elevator to the current floor, and control the AGV to move the shelf to the elevator. If not, move the shelf to the elevator. If the maximum side length of the shelf is not greater than M and there is no elevator on the current floor, dispatch an empty elevator to the current floor, and control the AGV to move the shelf to the elevator. If not, move the shelf to the elevator.

[0253] After the shelf is transported to the elevator (equivalent to step S1), determine whether the elevator is full (equivalent to step S2). If it is full, control the elevator to close the door and go to the target floor (equivalent to step S3); if it is not full, determine whether a small shelf transport request is received from the same floor within the waiting time (equivalent to the preset time length) (equivalent to step S402); if received, control the AGV to transport the small shelf into the elevator; if not received, determine whether a small shelf transport request is received from other floors (equivalent to step S91). If received, go to other floors (equivalent to step S92), and control the AGV to transport the shelf to the elevator. If not received, close the elevator door and go to the target floor.

[0254] In one possible implementation, the cross-floor shelf transport method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be coordinated by the WCS and CMS. In this scenario, there are four situations for large and small shelves entering the elevator:

[0255] In case 1, an AGV carrying a large shelf enters an elevator, and there's no elevator on the current floor. The CMS determines that the AGV is carrying a large shelf and requests elevator resources from the WCS with the bigPod field (a Boolean field) set to "true." The WCS assigns an empty elevator to the starting floor, opens the door, and instructs the AGV to place the shelf on the large shelf docking station. After the AGV exits the elevator, the WCS controls the elevator to the destination floor without entering the pallet placement logic.

[0256] In case 2, an AGV carries a large shelf into the elevator. The CMS requests elevator resources from the WCS, and the bigPod field is set to "true". If a small shelf is already in the elevator on the current floor and is executing the pallet allocation logic, the WCS immediately ends the allocation logic, notifies the elevator to close the door, and proceeds to the target floor for the small shelf.

[0257] In scenario 3, an AGV carries a small shelf into an elevator. The CMS requests elevator resources from the WCS, and the "bigPod" field is set to "true." If there is no elevator on the current floor, the WCS assigns an empty elevator to the starting floor and notifies the AGV to place the shelf on the small shelf docking station. After the AGV drops the shelf, it leaves the elevator. The elevator then enters the loading logic: the door waits for N seconds. If new small shelf requests are received within N seconds, the elevator will continue to respond. If the N seconds expire or the small shelf docking station is full, the elevator closes its doors and proceeds to the destination floor.

[0258] Case 4: The AGV carries a small shelf into the elevator (the bigPod field in the CMS's request for elevator resources message to the WCS is "false"), and if there is already a small shelf in the elevator on the current floor using the stacking logic, the WCS allows the AGV to carry the shelf into the elevator.

[0259] It is understandable that the above embodiments are only some of the possible embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. In other possible application scenarios, the cross-floor shelf transportation method provided by the present application can also be implemented in a manner different from the above embodiments. Without loss of generality, in the cross-floor shelf transportation method provided by the present application:

[0260] The empty elevator can accommodate at least n shelves of the first size at the same time;

[0261] The determining, based on the size of the first shelf, whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves includes:

[0262] If the size of the first shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0263] If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0264] If the size of the first rack is not greater than the first size, and the number of racks already loaded in the elevator is less than n, it is determined that the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more racks.

[0265] In a possible implementation, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf according to the size of the second shelf includes:

[0266] If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second shelf;

[0267] If the size of the second shelf is not greater than the first size, it is determined that the remaining controls can accommodate the second shelf.

[0268] In a possible implementation, in response to the request to move the second rack on the current floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes:

[0269] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack;

[0270] The method further comprises:

[0271] If a request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack.

[0272] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0273] If the second rack cannot be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the loaded first rack to the corresponding target floor;

[0274] The empty elevator is controlled to return to the current floor, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

[0275] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0276] If the second shelf cannot be accommodated, controlling the elevator to stay on the first floor;

[0277] If a request to transport a third rack on the current floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack has been transported to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the third rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the third rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0278] The empty elevator is controlled to return to the current floor, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

[0279] In a possible implementation, controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors, includes:

[0280] In response to the transport robot transporting the second rack to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the second rack, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks;

[0281] If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the corresponding target floor;

[0282] If more shelves can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay at the current floor, and in response to a request to transport the fourth shelf on the current floor to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf and the fourth shelf to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fourth shelf is the shelf that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0283] In a possible implementation, in response to the request to move the second rack on the current floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes:

[0284] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack;

[0285] The method further comprises:

[0286] If, after the first rack is moved to the elevator and before a preset time has passed, no request is received to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, and a request is received to move the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to run to the second floor, and the elevator is controlled to move the first rack and the fifth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fifth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0287] In a possible implementation, after controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, the method further includes:

[0288] If a request to move the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is moved to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to move the sixth rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to move the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective target floors, wherein the sixth rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0289] If a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective target floors.

[0290] In a second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a cross-floor shelf transport system is provided, such as Figure 11 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the transport system provided by the embodiment of the present application. The system includes a control unit 101, a transport robot 102, and an elevator 103. For the convenience of description, Figure 11 Only one transport robot and one elevator are shown. In other possible embodiments, the transport robot 102 can be one or more, and the elevator 103 can be one or more. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0291] The transport robot 102 is used to transport the shelves into the elevator 103;

[0292] Elevator 103, used to transport the loaded shelves to their respective corresponding target floors;

[0293] The control unit 101 is used to respond to the transport robot 102 transporting the first shelf to the elevator 103, and determine whether the remaining space of the elevator 103 can accommodate more shelves according to the size of the first shelf; if it cannot accommodate more shelves, control the elevator 103 to transport the first shelf to the target floor corresponding to the first shelf; if it can still accommodate more shelves, control the elevator 103 to stay on the first floor, and respond to the request to transport the second shelf on the first floor to the elevator 103, and determine whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf according to the size of the second shelf; if it can accommodate the second shelf, control the transport robot 102 to transport the second shelf to the elevator 103, and control the elevator 103 to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors; wherein, the target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported.

[0294] By adopting the embodiment of the present application, after the first rack is transported to the elevator, it can be determined whether the first rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the first rack. If the first rack is a large rack, since it can be considered that the elevator cannot accommodate other racks after the large rack is loaded in the elevator, the elevator is controlled to leave, which is equivalent to realizing the separate transportation of the large rack. If the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, waiting to receive the transportation request of the second rack on the first floor, and it can also be determined whether the second rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the second rack. When the second rack is a small rack, it can be considered that the second rack can be combined with the first rack in the elevator. That is, when the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is not immediately controlled to leave but is controlled to stay on the first floor to wait for the small rack that may need to be transported on the first floor, thereby realizing the combined transportation of the small racks. In this way, large racks and small racks can share the same elevator for cross-floor rack transportation without distinguishing between single-support elevators and multi-support elevators, which can improve the utilization rate of the elevator space and meet the complex needs of coordinated transportation of multiple types of racks.

[0295] In a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a cross-floor shelf transport device is provided, such as Figure 12 The figure shows a schematic structural diagram of a cross-floor shelf transport device provided by an embodiment of the present application, comprising:

[0296] a space determination module 1201 for determining, in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf;

[0297] The first control module 1202 is configured to control the elevator to transport the first rack to a target floor corresponding to the first rack if the elevator cannot accommodate more racks, wherein the target floor corresponding to the rack is the floor to which the rack needs to be transported;

[0298] The second control module 1203 is configured to control the elevator to stay on the first floor if more shelves can be accommodated, and in response to a request to move a second shelf on the first floor to the elevator, determine whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf based on the size of the second shelf;

[0299] The third control module 1204 is configured to control the transport robot to transport the second rack to the elevator if the second rack can be accommodated, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0300] By adopting the embodiment of the present application, after the first rack is transported to the elevator, it can be determined whether the first rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the first rack. If the first rack is a large rack, since it can be considered that the elevator cannot accommodate other racks after the large rack is loaded in the elevator, the elevator is controlled to leave, which is equivalent to realizing the separate transportation of the large rack. If the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, waiting to receive the transportation request of the second rack on the first floor, and it can also be determined whether the second rack is a large rack or a small rack based on the size of the second rack. When the second rack is a small rack, it can be considered that the second rack can be combined with the first rack in the elevator. That is, when the first rack is a small rack, the elevator is not immediately controlled to leave but is controlled to stay on the first floor to wait for the small rack that may need to be transported on the first floor, thereby realizing the combined transportation of the small racks. In this way, large racks and small racks can share the same elevator for cross-floor rack transportation without distinguishing between single-support elevators and multi-support elevators, which can improve the utilization rate of the elevator space and meet the complex needs of coordinated transportation of multiple types of racks.

[0301] In one possible implementation, an empty elevator can simultaneously accommodate at least n racks of the first size;

[0302] Based on the size of the first rack, determine the remaining space in the elevator to accommodate more racks, including:

[0303] If the size of the first shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves;

[0304] If the size of the first rack is not greater than the first size, and the number of racks already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, it is determined that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more racks;

[0305] If the size of the first rack is not greater than the first size, and the number of racks already loaded in the elevator is less than n, then it is determined that the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks;

[0306] In a possible implementation, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf according to the size of the second shelf includes:

[0307] If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second shelf;

[0308] If the size of the second shelf is not greater than the first size, determining that the remaining controls can accommodate the second shelf;

[0309] In one possible implementation, in response to a request to move a second rack on the first floor to an elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack includes:

[0310] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack;

[0311] The device is also used to:

[0312] If a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to move the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack;

[0313] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0314] a fourth control module, configured to control the elevator to transport the loaded first rack to a corresponding target floor if the second rack cannot be accommodated;

[0315] a fifth control module, configured to control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors;

[0316] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0317] a sixth control module, configured to control the elevator to stay at the first floor if the second shelf cannot be accommodated;

[0318] a seventh control module configured to, if a request to move a third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack has been moved to the elevator, control the transport robot to move the third rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to move the first rack and the third rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the third rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0319] an eighth control module, configured to control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors;

[0320] In one possible implementation, controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors, includes:

[0321] In response to the transport robot transporting the second rack to the elevator, determining whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks based on the size of the second rack;

[0322] If there is no room for more shelves, the elevator is controlled to move the second shelf to the corresponding target floor;

[0323] If more shelves can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and in response to the request to transport the fourth shelf on the first floor to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf and the fourth shelf to their respective corresponding target floors, where the fourth shelf is the shelf that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0324] In one possible implementation, in response to a request to move a second rack on a current floor to an elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack includes:

[0325] If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack;

[0326] The device also includes:

[0327] The ninth control module is used to control the elevator to run to the second floor, and control the elevator to move the first and fifth racks to their respective corresponding target floors if a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, and a request to move the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator is received. The fifth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

[0328] In a possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0329] a tenth control module, configured to, after the control transport robot transports the second rack to the elevator, if a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, control the transport robot to transport the sixth rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the sixth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space;

[0330] If a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective target floors.

[0331] The present application also provides an electronic device, such as Figure 13 Shown, including:

[0332] Memory 1301, used for storing computer programs;

[0333] The processor 1302 is configured to execute the program stored in the memory 1301 and implement the following steps:

[0334] In response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the first shelf, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves;

[0335] If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to a target floor corresponding to the first shelf, wherein the target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported;

[0336] If more racks can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor, and in response to a request to transport a second rack on the current floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack, wherein the first floor is the floor where the first rack is located;

[0337] If the second rack can be accommodated, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

[0338] The memory may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk storage. Alternatively, the memory may be at least one storage device located away from the processor.

[0339] The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0340] In another embodiment provided in the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above-mentioned cross-floor shelf transportation methods are implemented.

[0341] In another embodiment provided by the present application, a computer program product including instructions is also provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any cross-floor shelf transport method in the above embodiments.

[0342] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a solid-state drive (SSD).

[0343] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply the existence of any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

[0344] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. Similar portions between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences between the other embodiments. In particular, since the device and system embodiments are generally similar to the method embodiments, their descriptions are relatively simple. For related portions, reference can be made to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0345] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application are included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for transporting shelves across floors, characterized in that: The method comprises: In response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the first shelf, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves; If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the first shelf to a target floor corresponding to the first shelf, wherein the target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported; If more racks can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to stay at the first floor, and in response to a request to transport a second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack, wherein the first floor is the floor where the first rack is located; If the second rack can be accommodated, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The empty elevator can accommodate at least n shelves of the first size at the same time; The determining, based on the size of the first shelf, whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves includes: If the size of the first shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves; If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves; If the size of the first rack is not greater than the first size, and the number of racks already loaded in the elevator is less than n, it is determined that the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more racks.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining, according to the size of the second shelf, whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf includes: If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second shelf; If the size of the second shelf is not greater than the first size, it is determined that the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein In response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes: If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack; The method further comprises: If a request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: If the second rack cannot be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the loaded first rack to the corresponding target floor; The empty elevator is controlled to return to the first floor, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: If the second shelf cannot be accommodated, controlling the elevator to stay on the first floor; If a request to transport a third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the third rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the third rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space; The empty elevator is controlled to return to the first floor, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors, includes: In response to the transport robot transporting the second rack to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the second rack, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks; If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the corresponding target floor; If more shelves can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and in response to a request to transport the fourth shelf on the first floor to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf and the fourth shelf to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fourth shelf is the shelf that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that In response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes: If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack; The method further comprises: If, after the first rack is moved to the elevator and before a preset time has passed, no request is received to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, and a request is received to move the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to run to the second floor, and the elevator is controlled to move the first rack and the fifth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fifth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator.

9. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that After the controlling the transport robot transports the second shelf to the elevator, the method further includes: If a request to move the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is moved to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to move the sixth rack to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to move the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective target floors, wherein the sixth rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space; If a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective target floors.

10. A cross-floor shelf transport system, characterized in that: The system includes a control unit, a handling robot, and an elevator; The transport robot is used to transport the shelves into the elevator; The elevator is used to transport the loaded shelves to their respective corresponding target floors; The control unit is configured to determine, in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf; If no more racks can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack; if more racks can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay on the first floor, and in response to a request to transport a second rack on the first floor to the elevator, the elevator determines whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on the size of the second rack; If the second shelf can be accommodated, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and the elevator is controlled to transport the first shelf and the second shelf to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the target floor corresponding to the shelf is the floor to which the shelf needs to be transported.

11. A cross-floor shelf transport device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a space determination module, configured to determine, in response to the transport robot transporting the first shelf to the elevator, whether the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves based on the size of the first shelf; a first control module, configured to control the elevator to transport the first rack to a target floor corresponding to the first rack if no more racks can be accommodated, wherein the target floor corresponding to the rack is a floor to which the rack needs to be transported; a second control module, configured to control the elevator to stay at the first floor if more shelves can be accommodated, and in response to a request to transport a second shelf on the first floor to the elevator, determine whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf based on the size of the second shelf; The third control module is used to control the transport robot to transport the second rack to the elevator if the second rack can be accommodated, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective corresponding target floors.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that The empty elevator can accommodate at least n shelves of the first size at the same time; The determining, based on the size of the first shelf, whether the remaining space of the elevator can accommodate more shelves includes: If the size of the first shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space of the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves; If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is equal to n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator cannot accommodate more shelves; If the size of the first shelf is not greater than the first size, and the number of shelves already loaded in the elevator is less than n, determining that the remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more shelves; and / or The determining, according to the size of the second shelf, whether the remaining space can accommodate the second shelf includes: If the size of the second shelf is larger than the first size, determining that the remaining space cannot accommodate the second shelf; If the size of the second shelf is not greater than the first size, determining that the remaining controls can accommodate the second shelf; and / or In response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes: If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack; The device is also used for: If a request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, controlling the elevator to move the first rack to the target floor corresponding to the first rack; and / or The device further comprises: a fourth control module, configured to control the elevator to transport the loaded first rack to a corresponding target floor if the second rack cannot be accommodated; a fifth control module, configured to control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors; and / or The device further comprises: a sixth control module, configured to control the elevator to stay on the first floor if the second shelf cannot be accommodated; a seventh control module, configured to, if a request to transport a third rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, control the transport robot to transport the third rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack and the third rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the third rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space; an eighth control module, configured to control the empty elevator to return to the first floor, control the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors; and / or The controlling the transport robot to transport the second shelf to the elevator, and controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the respective corresponding target floors, includes: In response to the transport robot transporting the second rack to the elevator, determining, based on a size of the second rack, whether remaining space in the elevator can accommodate more racks; If no more shelves can be accommodated, controlling the elevator to transport the second shelf to the corresponding target floor; If more racks can be accommodated, the elevator is controlled to stay at the first floor, and in response to a request to transport the fourth rack on the first floor to the elevator, the transport robot is controlled to transport the second rack and the fourth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the fourth rack is the rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space of the elevator; and / or In response to the request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack according to the size of the second rack includes: If a request to move a second rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is moved to the elevator, in response to the request to move the second rack on the first floor to the elevator, determining whether the remaining space can accommodate the second rack based on a size of the second rack; The device further comprises: a ninth control module, configured to control the elevator to run to the second floor, and control the elevator to transport the first and fifth racks to their respective corresponding target floors, if a request to transport the second rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the first rack is transported to the elevator, and a request to transport the fifth rack on the second floor to the elevator is received; and / or The device further comprises: a tenth control module, configured to, after the control transport robot transports the second rack to the elevator, if a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, control the transport robot to transport the sixth rack to the elevator, and control the elevator to transport the first rack, the second rack, and the sixth rack to their respective corresponding target floors, wherein the sixth rack is a rack that can be accommodated in the remaining space; If a request to transport the sixth rack on the first floor to the elevator is not received before a preset time has passed after the second rack is transported to the elevator, the elevator is controlled to transport the first rack and the second rack to their respective target floors.

13. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: Memory for storing computer programs; A processor, configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 when executing a program stored in a memory.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented.

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